All for Love
by FranGipani6181
Summary: Injured and close to death, Morgana tries to get revenge on Merlin for foiling her plans yet again. Changing tactic, Morgana decides to target Merlin in a different way. A way that will only leave lasting damage, something that could never be fixed. *Third in the Golden Age AU* *Sequel to 'As Shadows Fall' and 'At Death's Door' Arwen Merke
1. Prologue

**The Golden Age Universe  
All for You - Prologue  
~Fran Gipani**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Merlin, or the characters...I'm just borrowing them and adding a couple of awesome OC's**

**AN - Woot! A sequel for a sequel! What do we call those!? A trilogy but what do we call the third story? Anywho...this is the long awaited (or not so long awaited) third story in my Golden Age Trilogy! :) The first was 'As Shadows Fall' then 'At Death's Door' so read those first if you only just found this! So Brooke will be back, along with a few other additions. This is just a prologue but I'll get into the real story next chapter :) I hope you** **all enjoy!**

_~ The Last Day ~_

"Arthur!" Merlin burst into the King's chambers, his voice was panicked, eyes wide.

"Merlin," Arthur had his back to the door, his voice sounding frustrated, "will you ever learn to knock!?" He turned to face his friend, a playful grin lighting up his face, but on seeing his friend's expression Arthur frowned. "What is it Merlin?"

"Arthur, it's Brooke!"

"What about her?"

"She's gone, Brooke has disappeared!"

"Merlin, I'm sure she has just gone for a walk or something." Arthur sighed, then stood and walked over to his friend putting a hand on his shoulder. "I am sure there is nothing to worry about."

"No Arthur, I am certain. She had another vision but she couldn't tell me what it was. I pleaded with her to tell me, so I could help her but she wouldn't say a word. Something has happened to her."

"Merlin...you're overthinking things." Arthur replied calmly.

"When have her visions ever been heading in the wrong direction?" Merlin looked as if his whole world was falling apart, "please Arthur."

Arthur nodded, "Merlin, what do you need me to do?"


	2. Chapter 1

**The Golden Age Universe  
All for You - Chapter 1  
~Fran Gipani**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Merlin, or the characters...I'm just borrowing them and adding a couple of awesome OC's**

**AN - I thought I would update with a new chapter which was a little more substantial :) enjoy! And please leave a review if you have the time... :)  
~Fran xx**

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Merlin's eyes flickered open, he blinked a few times, clearing his sleep blurred vision. His gaze then rested on the beautiful face of his wife, her lips were slightly parted, but there was a distinct small smile there, he watched as her lids flickered open to reveal her bright green eyes. Merlin brushed the wavy strands of blonde hair from Brooke's face and placed a light kiss on her forehead, he smiled, "morning lovely."

"Good morning," Brooke smiled back. Seconds later the loud cry a child filled their ears and broke the peaceful silence. Brooke moved to get up but she felt a strong hand on hers.

"I'll go," Merlin grinned before rolling out of bed and sauntering over to their child's crib, one shoulder of his nightshirt slipping slightly to reveal his pale skin. "Hello, my star." Merlin lifted baby Maire* - blankets and all - into his arms. He began rocking her gently, humming a tune his mother had always sung to him when he'd woken from a bad dream, he looked at his daughter with a tenderness in his eyes. A look reserved only for her. At that moment there was a knock at the door, Merlin looked round, still humming, while Brooke called out for them to come in.

Gwen turned to where her messy haired friend was standing with his daughter in his arms, a sad smile crossed her face. "Sorry, to come in at this time, but Merlin, Arthur needs you to dress and meet him at the Council Chambers."

"What is it?" Brooke asked her friend and queen, "here Merlin, I'll take Maire." Sitting up in bed now, Brooke stretched out her arms to take her daughter. She pressed her lips to Maire's forehead before looking up at Gwen again.

"He didn't say," Gwen frowned, "it was just that he needed Merlin."

"Okay then," Merlin was already behind the changing screen, pulling on the shirt that Brooke had laid out the night before. Minutes later he literally tumbled out from behind the screen, having got one leg caught in his long brown trousers. Both women smiled, at the look of pure mortification on Merlin's face. Moments later followed by a quiet giggle from the two year old in Brooke's arms, she was awake now and her bright green eyes, just like her mother's, had watched her father tumble.

Now fully dressed Merlin grinned, "I'll see you later my love, thank you Gwen for letting me know." He dashed from the room leaving the two women to look at each other with warm smiles on their faces.

"Is it alright if the twins come in? I know you've just woken but then were asking after Maire."

"Of course Gwen it's fine!" Brooke laughed, she was standing now, still with the smiling two year old in her arms.  
"Elyan, Heidi, you can come in now!" She then whispered to Brooke with a grin, "I told them to wait outside and that I'd call them in once I knew it was fine."

Mere seconds later a four year old boy and girl ran into the room. "The boy, Elyan, had straight dark hair and blue eyes, and olive skin, he was skinnier and taller than his sister, Heidi. She however had thick, light blonde curls which settled round her face and shoulders, she was shorter and looked more like Arthur with her blue eyes and blonde hair. They didn't look it, but they were twins, though Heidi was minutes older.

"Good morning Aunty Brooke!" The pair coursed, smiling up at Brooke. Though Merlin and Brooke were in no way related to Arthur or Gwen, Arthur and Merlin were brothers in everything but blood, also they'd made each other god parents to their relative children. So it seemed sensible to just call them Aunt and uncle. "Hello Maire!"

Brooke knelt down so that Maire was at their eye level, "be gentle." she said instinctively as Heidi stretched out a small hand to meet Maire's.

"I will." She replied, "when can Maire play with us?"

"Soon my dear, very soon. She's just not old enough yet, but she will be." She smiled.

"Yay! Elyan annoys me sometimes." She added as an after thought.

"Hey!" Elyan protested, pouting slightly.

"Heidi," Gwen warned, "be nice. Why don't I take the children over to the play room so you can get ready for the day? Then you can meet me there later."

"Sounds perfect," Brooke smiled, then she looked down at Maire, "Aunty Gwen is going to take you over to the playroom okay? Mummy'll see you soon."

Gwen lifted Maire into her arms before turning and walking to the door, "come on Elyan, Heidi." The children followed her from the room, leaving Brooke to dress in peace.

o

Merlin pushed open the door to the Council Room, a concerned look on his face, "what is it Arthur?"

"It's Morgana, she was spotted near one of the outlying villages."

"It's been five years since we've heard anything from her, why now?" Merlin thought aloud.

"I don't know, but whatever reason she's back it wont be good." Arthur walked round the table, closer to Merlin, "we need to find her though before she can do something drastic. You said that last time she wanted to kill you, to get revenge. Who's to say she won't try again?"

Merlin nodded, "I need to do something about it. Stop her before she can hurt anyone, because she won't hurt me physically. She's learnt that now. She'll go for Brooke, Maire...you... She'll try to hurt me emotionally." A look of anger flooded Merlin's face, "I need to stop her."

"No my friend," Arthur put a hand on Merlin's shoulder, "we need to stop her."

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**AN -Thanks for reading and I hope you liked the children's names :) If you're curious about the reasons for the names then send me a PM and I will explain :)**

***Pronounced My-ra, it means 'star of the sea' or 'sea of bitterness' which will be significant later in the series.**


	3. Chapter 2

**The Golden Age Universe  
All for Love - Chapter 2  
~Fran Gipani**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Merlin, or the characters...I'm just borrowing them and adding a couple of awesome OC's**

**AN - I am really happy with the response I got for the last two chapters, it really is a rather large showing despite the time gap since the last story in this series. Thank you to musicnlyrics who is my first reviewer to this story, and also a reader from the last story :) I'm glad to see you again. Also thanks to all the other folllowers and favouriters :) I hope you all enjoy the next chapter :)**

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The next morning Arthur and Merlin, along with Gwaine, Percival, Leon and much to the frustration of the king and his warlock, Brooke and Gwen had insisted they come on the search for Morgana too. Merlin and Arthur had taken the lead with Brooke and Gwen following, then the others in a line at the back. They took the path from the Castle through the forest, and towards the valley where Morgana had last been spotted. All the while Merlin was reaching out with his magic, trying to find any traces of Morgana's magic close by.

"You know," Gwaine spoke up, "I have a feeling we should split up if we really want to find Morgana."

Merlin slowed his horse to ride next to Gwaine"No, I don't think we should, we don't know how powerful she is, if we do find her you'll probably need me to do something. I know you are all fine fighters, but this is Morgana." I don't even know if I could beat her. He didn't voice this to the others however, but kept pushing his horse forward to catch up with Arthur again.

"Ahh, I see Merlin, so if we do find her what are w-" Gwaine was cut of as an arrow lodged itself into his chest causing him to fall sideways off his horse.

"Gwaine!" Percival called out, pulling his sword from it place on his belt. The others followed suit, guiding their horses to surround the fallen man. Seconds later a group of about 20 men ran in one big wave over the hill and down into the valley, their yells echoing and reverberating around the clearing. Brooke jumped down from her horse and began to heal Gwaine's wound, since she'd married Merlin she had been working with Gaius and training her magic to heal the sick and wounded. It took her a while but it worked almost every time.

Merlin was about to cast a spell to create a forcefield around the group when he felt a ball of strong energy hit him in the stomach causing him to fall back off his horse, hitting his head on a jutting out rock. Just at that moment Morgana emerged from the group of black clad men who had now surrounded the knights, a smirk crossed her face to see that her spell had hit her target. Feeling a little dizzy and confused the warlock still managed to cast the spell with a flash of gold in his cobalt blue eyes, but in his dazed state he couldn't make it reach out far enough to cover himself too. He stood on wobbly legs, reaching a hand up to the back of his head he felt a warm, sticky liquid between his fingers - blood.

"Why hello Emrys, fancy meeting you here," Morgana smirked, "though really I planned all this, you see. Right," she took a step forward, "to the last," she was almost nose to nose with Merlin, "detail."

"Morgana." Merlin slurred slightly, "do you honestly think I didn't think of this as a possible outcome to this trip?"

"Merlin." Arthur growled warningly, he knew what Merlin would have done, as well as making a protective bubble, his friend would have made it so that they couldn't leave as well. He was about to say something else but Merlin indicated for him to stop, much to Merlin's surprise as his own, Arthur stopped.

"I guessed so," replied Morgana, "you are Emrys after all. You though, are also Merlin, a man who cares for his friends so much it costs him his own safety, again and again. You've done it again. I can sense it, that dome of power, it doesn't cover yourself does it?" She smirked, "that was your first mistake. Your second, leaving your only other source of protection inside."

"Morgana, Emrys and I are the same person, we both care the same." He frowned, "but it must be so freeing for you to not have those sorts of cares anymore, no one to worry about but yourself."  
"You have the lower hand Emrys, I have you trapped, and right now, you're vulnerable."

"Good." Merlin replied defiantly, he opened his mouth to speak again but then he heard a familiar voice in his head. 'Merlin, my love, what are you doing? Let me out! Please, I can help you.'

"Merlin no!" Arthur had no problem with being loud, "extend the dome you idiot!"

Again Merlin ignored them.

"Interesting, very interesting," Morgana smirked, "you know Emrys, once you're gone, I can do what ever I like with Camelot, and Arthur."

Merlin nodded. Only just fighting the urge to pass out on the ground. "Though you know I will have put up wards and protections..."

"They can be broken Emrys." A smirk filled her face before she carried on speaking, her dark cold eyes were gloating. "Okay then, let's see how far away you can be before the dome breaks down. You two," she beckoned over the two closest men, "follow behind him and make sure he doesn't fall. The rest of you follow behind, I'll leave them there. By the time the dome fails it will be too late for them to find us."

"Merlin!" The knights yelled in unison, "what the hell are you doing?"

"Trust me, everything will be fine!" Merlin called back as loudly as possible, and with his head pounding, that wasn't much. 'It better be!' Brooke's voice echoed in his head again, be careful my love.

With that Arthur, the knights, Gwen and Brooke watched helplessly as Merlin was lead from the valley up a steep slope then disappeared in the distance with Morgana and her men. "Arggh! Damn it!" Arthur yelled, "he didn't listen, he didn't damn well listen to me." He was fuming, he hit the dome with a clenched fist, he retracted it immediately, a painful bruise beginning to form. Arthur growled in pain, "he is such an idiot."

"Arthur calm down," Gwen approached her husband slowly, "I know Merlin didn't listen to you, but you need to remember, when was the last time one of Merlin's plan's went wrong."

Yeah, there are plenty, Arthur thought, the worst was that idea of his to kill the Shadow, that didn't work out too well did it? But then again, he saved my life. Arthur nodded, "I trust him, but I wish he would have told me what he was planning."

"Arthur, I don't think he could have, we needed to be surprised for it to ave worked. He did what he did hoping we'd trust him."

"And we will, but if he's there too long, I'm going to get him." Seconds later the shimmery light disappeared around them and they all managed to breathe a sigh of relief. Brooke and Percival then helped Gwaine back on to his horse, before Brooke pulled her self up as well and they set off in the direction of Camelot. Complete silence fell upon the group, each lost in their own thoughts. Brooke most of all though, having lost mental contact with her husband the moment the shield had gone down, despite her trust in the man she still worried. As she knew Merlin well enough to know he was highly likely to do something risky and self sacrificing, Brooke wondered if possibly that would have been the last time she saw her husband alive. Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, she concentrated on thoughts of seeing Maire again, thus keeping her mind off her husbands fate.

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**AN - Right into the action I know, you guys may not like it though I hope you do! There's a little cliffy there but you guys will see more of Merlin next chapter! Please remember to review if you have the time! :)**

**PS - I am changing the name of this story to 'All for Love' I will be changing the title of the story when I upload the next chapter :) sorry for any inconvenience**


	4. Chapter 3

**The Golden Age Universe  
All for Love - Chapter 3  
~Fran Gipani**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Merlin, or the characters...I'm just borrowing them and adding a couple of awesome OC's**

**AN - Thanks for all the new follows, faves and reviews! I am so glad you guys are enjoying the story :) Happy reading!**

* * *

Merlin blinked himself into consciousness, it took him a while, but eventually he was a little aware of his damp, dark surroundings. The next thing he notice was the constant ache in his arms and shoulders, he realised with a frustrated frown that his wrists were tied, and held out like wings. A low groan rumbled in his throat as he tried to stand and release the pressure in his muscles, it was seconds before he realised this idea was useless, as painfully, his toes only just met the ground. A sense of dejavu tickled at the back of his neck as finally he looked up to see Morgana leering in his face.

"Nice to see you awake there Merlin," the comment could almost sound friendly, but given the circumstances her meaning was far from it. She frowned, "you do know Merlin, that your silence and also you being here will in no way help your friend, or your precious Camelot?"

Merlin stayed mute, avoiding Morgana's intense gaze as he was sure doing so would give away the fear he felt. Then a flash of pain riddled through his face as Morgana gave him a back handed slap to the jaw, a ring left a gash in his cheek which began to leak hot blood onto his pale skin.

"Look at me!" She yelled, "do me at least the respect of looking at me when I talk to you."

Slowly Merlin raised his head, glowering at his captor.

"Better." She smirked, before turning on her heal and headed towards her workbench where a small bowl hung above an open flame. Her fingers brushed over the hilt of a small blade. "Lets begin." She slipped the blade from the table and walked over to Merlin, "you know Emrys, the last time I saw you, you and Brooke left me close to death. For that reason my power is slowly declining. You will be able to help me there."

"You're loosing your magic?"

"Yes, and all because of you!" She spat the words out aggressively.

"How will I be able to help you?" Merlin replied bitterly.

"No need to concern yourself with that Emrys, I'd be concerned about what it will do to you."

Merlin glared at her.

"I just need to borrow some magic is all, and usually that would be fine, but with you Emrys - your magic is your essence. Magic makes you tick. So I wonder what will happen when you are running on low." She smirked, twirling the knife in her fingers. "Curious to find out?"

With that Morgana began to chant, "Mea invocabo bardus vestros opportuno. Particeps es sensim amittere fortitudo noluit. Volentes te vivere." She repeated this then as she cut a deep slit in in her own arm, and collected the blood in the small bowl, she said, "Sanguis autem ille qui accepit, bene est."

Merlin watched her as she then added a few more ingrediants to the bowl and stirred it once, stirred it twice. Then a puff of black smoke rose from the bowls contents, making his eyes sting. He wanted to stop her but he was rooted to the spot, the bindings on his wrists had markings on them keeping him from using his magic.

Morgana then approached Merlin with the knife, "Sanguis ipsius donatoris, magna vi capta." She cut a long slit in Merlin's arm in the exact place of hers, ignoring Merlin's growl of pain she collected the blood and mixed it into the bowl. She waited a few moments before saying, "iam transferre," her eyes flashed gold making the small bowl catch fire, engulfing both the witch and the warlock in more thick black smoke.  
Later, when the air had finally cleared Merlin woke, blinking, he tried to focus on the room around him. "Good, you're awake." He heard Morgana say, still not able to clear his vision. "Now I can't have you remembering all this and running off to tell Arthur. Killing you wont do as I need you alive for the spell to work. I'll clear your memory, and roll you down to the bottom of the path there. It's been three days, they'll be coming to find you soon."

Merlin groaned, this is not looking good at all, his vision was still cloudy but he could make out Morgana's dark form. The last thing he heard was Morgana muttering a spell, before darkness covered his vision, and he knew no more for a very long time.

O

Back at the castle, the others had tried to get on with life as per normal, but the lack of the warlock's presence was more than noticeable. Brooke had taken to walking with Maire in her arms, to the empty castle corridors which weren't directly connected to the main sections of the castle. Here she would practice her magic, trying to create patterns of light to entertain her daughter. Maire's green eyes would follow the swirling light, giggling and holding tightly to her mothers fingers. Occasionally she would reach out with her magic, trying to find Merlin, but she found nothing at all. It was the morning of the third day since Merlin had been taken from them, Brooke had found another empty room and was producing butterflies from mid air, much to the joy of Maire.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Arthur's voice jumped her out of the peaceful moment, she went to stand up but Arthur stopped her and sat next to her on the ground. Reaching out slowly he let Maire take his finger and squeeze it, a giggle making him smile. "How'd you know?"

"I did the same the first time, when I banished Merlin. It helped me to think."

Brooke nodded, but didn't speak, absent mindedly she stroked her fingers through her daughter's hair.

"We are going to find him now, we've waited long enough. I know Merlin said to leave him but there is no way that I am going to listen to him this time."

"Thank you," Brooke smiled at him, "I'll come along too."

Arthur shook his head, "I'd rather you stay here, Merlin will need both yours and Gaius' help when he gets back."

"But what if Morgana-"

"I will be fine," Arthur cut in, "it's risky, but it is a risk I am willing to take." For Merlin, there is nothing I wouldn't do.

"But-!"

"Brooke," Arthur sighed, "what do you think Merlin will say if something happens to you, hmm?"

He wouldn't be to happy if something happened to you either! Brooke thought with a frustrated sigh, the only thing keeping her from raising her voice was the small child snuggled into her lap. "Fine, but you better come back whole, both of you."

Arthur nodded and letting his finger slide from Maire's grip, he stood and left the small room. It was a couple of minutes before he had said farewell to Gwen and the twins and was riding into the forest, back the same way they had rode three days previously. When he finally arrived at the valley, Arthur slowed his horse to a stop. "Please Merlin," he muttered, "please tell me you left us a sign or something, a way to find you." He stared around the bare area of land then up to the rocky path which Morgana had dragged the Warlock away through. With a click of his heals the horse started towards the recognisable path.

Realising the path was too rugged and steep for the horse he jumped down and left the horse to wander. It was then that he noticed a dark shape on the ground, near the foot of the path. Squinting Arthur walked towards it, then as he realised who it was, his blue eyes flashed angrily as he ran over and knelt by the still body. "Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed, rolling his friend gently onto his back. "Merlin, can you hear me?" He put a hand on his friends cheek and slapped it lightly, "Merlin!" But there was no response.

Worriedly Arthur checked for a pulse, with a sigh of relief he felt one under his shaking fingers, albeit a feint one. He then let himself take in the rest of Merlin's prone form. His friend's skin was pale, paler than usual that is, and for Merlin that was some achievement. His shirt was ripped, and underneath the dirt and dust he could see angry red grazes and gashes; on his right arm there was a deep slit in his skin. The mans ribs were bruised. "What did she do to you?" Arthur whispered before lifting Merlin's unnaturally cold body into his arms and walking back towards the horse. "Lets get you back to Gaius."

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**AN - So a little cliff :P and I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, the spells Morgana used are Latin translations, not actual spells from the show. I'm going to be away for about a week starting tomorrow but I will try and update as soon as I get home :) Thanks for reading and I hope you guys have a good day/night :) Please leave a review if you have the time :)**


	5. Chapter 4

**The Golden Age Universe  
All for Love - Chapter 4  
~Fran Gipani**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Merlin, or the characters...I'm just borrowing them and adding a couple of awesome OC's**

**AN - Thanks for the support in favourites, reviews and follows! They are really appreciated and encouraging :) Sorry for the wait, and I hope you enjoy the new chapter! Please try leave a review if you have the time! :)**

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It took overnight for Merlin to wake again, for the first time in quite a while the man was again unconscious in the patients bed of Gaius' quarters. Brooke had stubbornly not left his side, or slept a wink since her husband had been brought back from the valley; she had stayed there the whole night with Maire as well, while watching over Merlin. The feeling that something was wrong with Merlin, other than being unconscious that is, would refuse to shake off. It was the early hours of the morning - after Gaius and also Arthur had been persuaded to sleep, while they could not do the same for her - that Merlin stirred.

"Merlin?" Brooke whispered, a wide smile spreading over her face, she slipped her hand into his.

"Brooke?" Merlin slurred slightly, "where am I? Wha...what happened?" Now that he was awake his blue eyes were wide, he sat up, blinking slowly but felt a gentle hand on his chest pushing him back down.

"I was going to ask you the same thing..." Arthur strode into the room, "how are you feeling?"

"Alright, a little groggy though."

"Just don't do that again idiot, you had no idea what she would have done to you."

Merlin gave him a reproachful look, "if she had me she would have been distracted long enough for the protective charms I put on the castle to start working, and the ones on all of you to do the same."

"But then why let Morgana take you?" Arthur asked.

"I needed to check and see if they'd keep working when I was far from the castle, and also if they worked while I was unconscious."

"And did they?"

"Yes," Merlin lied, well partially lied, the charms had worked, he had felt them buzzing at the back of his mind right up until he'd blacked out. Then when he'd woken, Merlin knew he was meant to feel them there still, but there was nothing. Not a whisper.

"Well I'm glad that they worked but please, please don't do that again, you scared me witless." With a small smile Brooke squeezed Merlin's hand, "what happened after Morgana took you anyway?

Weakly, Merlin returned her smile, "I don't remember anything really, I remember leaving with Morgana, and then that was when I blacked out."

"She must have done something to make you forget what ever she did to you." Arthur offered worriedly, his trust for Morgana was close to none, and he wouldn't put it past her to have wiped his friend's memory.

"That's possible, but why would she need to wipe my memory? It was probably just the bang on the head." Merlin tried to shrug it off, he knew that Morgana had purposely wiped his memory, the warlock could feel the traces of the spell in his system, he knew Morgana's magic well. It was just that he didn't want the others to know yet, not until he'd worked out why.

His plan didn't fool the other two though, and Gaius who had stayed surprisingly silent throughout the whole thing, raised an eyebrow before pressing a small glass into Merlin's hand, who was no sitting up despite Brooke's protests. "Drink this, it will clear your head" When Merlin hesitated, Gaius - who knew how little the man trusted him with these potions, and to be honest, Gaius was perfectly happy to admit how many times he'd tricked Merlin into drinking the sleeping draft - reached out a hand to guide the glass to Merlin's mouth. "Do you need me to pour it down your throat?"

At that Merlin downed the small glass of greenish liquid in on go. Then with an utterly defeated look, he promptly slumped back down onto the bed. Eyes closed. Breathing even.

"You don't believe a word he's saying do you Gaius?" Arthur asked with a small frown.

"I find it difficult to do so, yes. Do you?"

"Nope!" He ran a hand through his hair, "Brooke?"

"Not one word."

-afl-

A cruel laugh left Morgana's lips as she felt Merlin's power slowly merging into her own, as everything seemed to be going to plan, right now Merlin would slowly be losing everything that kept him going. As with any other magic user they would just lose their power, however Merlin, in theory as his whole essence was Magic, and with Morgana using his power, he would slowly become more and more run down. She smirked, this would definitely be enough, more than enough. Feeling stronger now Morgana left the small hut and taking her horse she rode towards the Great Stones of Nemeton. For she knew, it would be there her plan would work best. She would need a place where time, and the fabrics of the world were weakest, the witch wanted to make a door through the fabric of reality and time. It would take a wile and a lot of skills to do so, but with Merlin's power, there wasn't thing Morgana wouldn't be able to do.

-afl-

Merlin had no idea how long it was before her woke again, what he did know though was that it was night, and that his whole body ached. With the light of the strong burning candle he saw that that Brooke was asleep on the end of his bed, head resting on her arms. Not wanting to wake her, Merlin reached out a hand to where the glass of water sat on the side table just out of reach and tried using Magic to draw it closer to himself.

The glass tipped a little in his direction but didn't slide obediently across the wood as per usual.

Merlin frowned and tried for the second time. The same happened again. Frustrated now, Merlin put more force into his spell, even then the spell didn't have the same strength. However that extra force sent the water flying out of the glass and all over Brooke who woke with a yelp.

"Oh!" Merlin exclaimed, feeling surprised at what his frustration had done, he usually had a lot more control over what his magic could do, "Brooke I am so sorry!" Merlin fumbled, "Here let me dry you."

"Merlin it's fine," Brooke giggled slightly, "you should have woken me my love, I could have passed it to you!"

"You looked so peaceful," Merlin replied with a smile, "here let me." Merlin tried to dry Brooke using magic as he usually would have himself when he got out of the bath (it was so much quicker than a towel.)

Brooke looked on in confused shock as the Warlocks eyes flashed a murky, cloudy grey instead of the usual bright gold. "Merlin?" She whispered a look of horror crossing her pale features, as she realised she was still dripping wet.

"What?" Then Merlin understood, he tried again to get the same dull grey eyes as before.

"Morgana," Brooke muttered, hatred lacing the word. "What on earth has she done too you!?" Broke spat out the words, they hung in the air, dancing between the couple, almost taunting. They had no idea of the answer, but what they did know was that the answer wouldn't be good.


	6. Chapter 5

**The Golden Age Universe  
All for Love - Chapter 5  
~Fran Gipani**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Merlin, or the characters...I'm just borrowing them and adding a couple of awesome OC's**

**AN - Thanks for all the support and love for this series! :) You guys are awesome! I'm sorry these chapters are short, I am trying my best to make them longer. I hope you enjoy the chapter and please try to leave a review if you have the chance :)**

* * *

"What on earth has she done?" Brooke repeated, staring in sadness at Merlin like he was going to die, she knew the difference of what Magic was to her, versus what it was to her husband. The complications that could arise were drastic. "I knew you were lying when you said your lack of memory was the bang to the back of your head, Morgana must have done something to your Magic."

Merlin sighed, "I knew there was something wrong the moment I woke but I didn't want to worry you all until I'd worked it out."

"You didn't want to worry us? You didn't- Merlin we could have helped!" Brooke raised her voice, "keeping quiet about it wouldn't have helped, if anything it would have given Morgana more time to carryon with what ever she has planned for you." At that moment Maire, who had been asleep in her cot near Merlin's bed in Gaius' chambers, began to cry. Her mother's worried, and raised voice had disturbed her, Brooke turned her back to Merlin and lifted her small daughter from her crib. Maire's crying slowly stopped, but not before she'd woken Gaius.

"What is it?" He asked, having noticed the tension in the room. He looked from Brooke to Merlin, then back again. There was a moments silence before Brooke began to speak and explain Merlin's predicament, all the while rocking Maire slowly to keep her calm. Gaius' curious expression went from curious to worried, then frustration when Brooke had finished. He sent an annoyed glare in Merlin's direction. "Merlin I-" He paused, "I'm sure Brooke has said enough on the subject of your idiocy, so I'm not going to comment on that." He was about to carry on but Merlin interrupted.

"Please don't tell Arthur." The Warlock spoke up.

"What shouldn't they tell me?" Arthur's voice turned all heads in the room, but Merlin however, avoided Arthurs stern gaze. "What is it?" He repeated a little louder, "I came as soon as the messenger told me you were awake Merlin."

"Messenger?" Brooke and Merlin said in unison.

"I sent one," Gaius replied, "I sent him as soon as Maire woke me with her crying."

"Anyway, what's wrong?" Arthur pushed the subject.

Reluctantly Merlin retold the story from when he'd woken the first time. He didn't leave anything out, not even the lies he'd told them all. Merlin watched as Arthur's expression turned from annoyed, to fuming within a matter of seconds. Dropping his gaze to his knees, Merlin could almost feel Arthur's frustration in the quiet room.

"You what?" Arthur growled, "Merlin you idiot! I thought we were over lying, even to protect each other. If you think that for some reason Morgana has done something to your Magic then you need to tell us. I may have no clue what make your powers tick but at least if Gaius knows then he can instruct me on how to help you." The king ran a hand through his hair, "Gaius do you have any idea what she could have done?"

"None Sire, but I am sure that with a little time I could find out."

"Okay then, where do we start?" Brooke said with a worried smile, "I can't imagine it will be long before Morgana tries something else."  
-afl-

The four spent most of the morning pouring over Gaius' collection of Magical books, Gwen arrived a little later with the twins - who, though they couldn't read too well, looked at the pictures and passed books from person to person, thus making them feel like they were doing something to help - by then the room had become rather crowded and the floor was strewn with thick, dust covered books. Just after their hasty lunch, Arthur and Gwen left ith the twins and headed off to attend a council meeting, leaving just Gaius, Brooke and an unusually tired Merlin.

Brooke closed the book shed just finished with a decisive thump, "I've found nothing really useful in any of these, all they are talking about is the fact that an induced loss of Magic should be near impossible without the use of Merlin's level of power. Morgana was injured and weak, when she took Merlin, there was no way she could have done anything of the sort."

"Exactly," Gaius replied, "it would be impossible for her and yet here Merlin is, with his power slowly being drained from him and his energy levels dropping. We need to work out what she's done."

"You know," Merlin slurred slightly, "they may be something the stores of books that Uther locked away during the purge. I have a key to the room, Arthur gave it to me, I go down in a moment, I just-"

"You are not going anywhere Merlin," Brooke interrupted, "you look like you're about to keel over." Moments later Merlin proved her right, he'd slumped in his seat, eyes closed, head resting on the table. "Well that made that decision easy," she said with a small smile, before helping Gaius to manoeuvre his lifeless body onto the bed.

"Leave Maire with me, I'll keep looking here," he lifted a ring of keys from the hook on the wall by the door, "take my key. I really hope you find something."

"So do I Gaius, so do I." She replied before kissing Merlin and Maire goodbye, she left the room at a small run. Not wanting to waste anymore time.

Within fifteen minutes Brooke was down in the vaults under the castle, the one she was looking for was right at the back, and she was thankful for the flaming torches which were positioned strategically along the rocky wall. Eventually she got to the heavy locked door and lifted the chunky key to the lock, with an echoing clunk the door swung open to reveal a room full to burst with piles of dusty old books. Lucky Uther had thought it would be good to keep the offending magic books, just in case they would become useful to defend themselves from Magic, she thought with a thankful smile on her face.

Starting on the left side of the room and moving across, Brooke began to flick through the thickly paged books, looking for any mention of Magic loss in a person. Lifting down a pile of books which looked relevant, Brooke sat with her back against the cold stone and began to read. She had no idea how long she'd spent down there but it must have been quite a while as she eventually slumped where she was sitting and drifted off to sleep. An old book closed over her hand by her side.

Brooke watched as Morgana rode towards the place where she'd broken the veil into the void, she seemed happy. Then as Morgana grew closer to her destination the witch seemed to grow stronger and more powerful. Seconds later the image jumped to be one of Merlin, somehow he was upright and walking towards what looked like a large whirl pool, distorting the air around the gathering of large stone boulders. 'Merlin!' she tried to call out, 'MERLIN!' But he couldn't hear a word, he looked back for a second, just one second long enough for Brooke to see the look of sadness on his face. Merlin then stepped into the open space, 'NO! Merlin!' She yelled but still he didn't hear, and he disappeared into thin air. Morgana's cruel laugh filled her ears jolting her awake.


	7. Chapter 6

**The Golden Age Universe  
All for Love - Chapter 5  
~Fran Gipani**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Merlin, or the characters...I'm just borrowing them and adding a couple of awesome OC's**

**AN - Thank you so much for your patientce guys! :) To all the new readers welcome and I hope all of you enjoy the chapter :) Please remember to leave a review if you have the time! :)**

* * *

Brooke watched as Morgana rode towards the place where she'd broken the veil into the void, she seemed happy. Then as Morgana grew closer to her destination the witch seemed to grow stronger and more powerful. Seconds later the image jumped to be one of Merlin, somehow he was upright and walking towards what looked like a large whirl pool, distorting the air around the gathering of large stone boulders. 'Merlin!' she tried to call out, 'MERLIN!' But he couldn't hear a word, he looked back for a second, just one second long enough for Brooke to see the look of sadness on his face. Merlin then stepped into the open space, 'NO! Merlin!' She yelled but still he didn't hear, and he disappeared into thin air. Morgana's cruel laugh filled her ears jolting her awake.

Brooke little idea of why she woke to the sound of her own screams. The only thing she remembered was the immense feeling of stress, worry, pain and loss. The image of Merlin disappearing into thin air seared in her minds eye. She stumbled up, breathing hard, she pushed her dampened blonde waves from her face and stretched. Trying not to think about what she had just seen, Brooke turned back to the book she had been reading and tried to find her place. As her stomach started to tell her that she needed to eat, she found a chapter on magic which wasn't exactly what she was looking for, but it was what she thought to be a pretty good idea.

-afl-

"You want to what?" Gaius exclaimed.

"Let Merlin use my Magic until he's got his back," Brooke didn't see any problem with it. As soon as she'd read through the chapter Brooke had ran all the way back to the physicians chambers to tell him. "The book says it's possible, it would work, and it would save Merlin until we can work something else out."

"If you really think it will work without harming you?"

"It shouldn't, as far as I know I don't depend on the power running through my veins to live as much as Merlin does. I'll be fine, a little tired maybe, but it shouldn't matter."

"I'll wake Merlin in a moment and ask him about it, will you get Arthur, he needs to know what we are about to do."

"Of course Gaius, I'll be right back." Brooke replied with a relieved smile, before running out the door.

After Brooke had left Gaius started to put together a strong smelling jar, one which would revive him from his induced slumber. Minutes later Gaius sat by Merlin's still figure, and helped him into a slight sitting position. Unstoppering the small bottle with his other hand, he waved it under Merlin's nose.

Seconds later a disgusted sounding splutter was emitted from the younger man's lips, "what is that?" he cried out scrunching up his nose, "it distinctly reminds me of the smell of dirty socks, those of a certain king. Why are you waving them in front of my nose Gaius?"

"I needed to wake you." He replied simply.

"Yes, but there was no need to do so with the smelliest socks of Arthur's!"

"What of mine?" Arthur's voice interrupted Merlin's outburst.

"Oh...nothing." Merlin replied with a jump.

"What was it that you found Brooke?" Gaius changed the subject.

"Well, I have a feeling none of you will like the idea." Brooke began, ignoring the worried look which had come over Merlin's face, she carried on, "I didn't find anything on one loosing their magic exactly, but I did find instructions on how to 'borrow' someone else's power."

"Oh...and...?" Merlin breathed out, looking from Brooke's apprehensive expression to the book in her hand.

"You could borrow my magic from me..."

It took a few seconds for Merlin to process Brooke had said, but when he did the warlock shook his head defiantly, "Nope, no no no!" He muttered quickly.

"Why not!" Brooke countered, "I don't rely on my power for energy like you do, so it wont effect me too much. I'll be fine!"

"What do you mean? Lend Merlin your Magic?" Arthur questioned with a frown.

"She means to literally give Merlin her power for a while. Like you used to use Merlin to do your dirty washing, he will be using Brooke's magic to live." Gaius replied.

Arthur nodded, "Then what's the problem Merlin? From what I can see Brooke would get her power back once we've worked out what happened to yours."

"Well basically, there is a high chance this could go horribly wrong for Brooke - we have no idea of whether or not this could kill her-"

"-but, I am more than willing to take that risk to keep you up to strength." Brooke cut in, "I love you Merlin, I don't like to see you so weak like this."

"I wouldn't want you to end up like this either!" Merlin retaliated.

"I will be fine." She said with a small smile, before kneeling down by Merlin's bed and kissing him, her hands threading through her husbands dark hair.

Merlin pulled away slowly, resting his forehead against Brooke's, "I love you." He whispered, ignoring the onlookers.

"I love you too Merlin." She smiled, opening her eyes again, "and so that is why you'll let me help you." She said with finality.

Merlin looked to Arthur, who shook his head as if to say: 'You're alone with this battle mate'. Then finally, Merlin nodded, "okay, what do we have to do?"

"Thank you my love." Brooke replied simply, "From what I can read here, we need to do a sort of ritual - you put the ingredients into a bowl over a flame, then I have to say the first half of the spell, add some of my blood to the bowl. Then I say the rest of the spell and add some of Merlin's blood into the mix." She frowned, "It says that both participants will be likely to pass out for a number of days, depending on how dependent on magic the person lending the magic is."

"Okay," Gaius held out a hand, "pass me the book and I'll put all the ingredients together." Book in hand he walked to the back of the room to put it together. Minutes later he was ready, and he walked over to the stove to place the bowl in a sling above the open flame which Brooke had just lit.

Standing by the stove she began to read from the book, "Mea invocabo bardus vestros opportuno. Particeps es sensim amittere fortitudo noluit. Volentes te vivere." She repeated this then as she cut a deep slit in in her own arm, and collected the blood in the small bowl, Brooke then read, "Sanguis autem ille qui accepit, bene est."

Gaius then added a few more ingrediants to the bowl and stirred it once, stirred it twice. Then a puff of black smoke rose from the bowls contents, making their eyes sting. Gaius gave Brooke a nod to carry on with the spell.

"Sanguis ipsius donatoris, magna vi capta." Sending Merlin an apologetic look, Brooke cut a long slit in Merlin's arm in the exact place of hers, Merlin winced but said nothing as Brooke collected the blood and mixed it into the bowl. Taking a second deep breath Brooke finished off the spell with: "iam transferre," her eyes flashed gold making the small bowl catch fire, engulfing both the Brooke and the warlock in more thick black smoke.

Seconds later the smoke cleared around the couple. Merlin was now unconscious and Brooke was passed out on the ground, carefully Arthur lifted Brooke and placed her gently on the spare bed. Gaius put out the stove and turned to the king, "Well that's that Sire. We'll need to wait until they are both conscious to see if that worked. So my advice is that you go to bed and I'll call for you if there is any change."

"Thank you Gaius." Arthur replied, with a small smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Gaius nodded, and waited until Arthur had left before turning to clean up the mess the spell had left. It had been just over five minutes when Gaius heard the door bang wide open and turn to see Arthur standing there, panting slightly.

"I just thought Gaius, maybe...just possibly...what Brooke did with Merlin could be exactly what Morgana did to him. If you think about it - how long it was before he woke up, the scars on his arms that could only be knife wounds. Merlin told me Morgana was weakened when they fought the last time - maybe she is using Merlin to keep her strength so she finish off Merlin while he is without power..."

Getting over the shock of Arthur bursting back into the room, Gaius spoke, "you know what Sire, that is highly likely what has happened to Merlin's Magic." He sighed, looking over to where the Warlock lay in the bed. "And if it is, we are going to have to be wary - the sheer power Merlin holds is phenominal - not even he could control it until he'd learnt how. Imagine what could happen with that much power in the wrong hands."

Arthur nodded worriedly, "the damage would be irreparable."


End file.
